Families & Households - Family And Social Policy Flashcards
What is social policy?
Plans & actions of state agencies (health & social services, welfare benefit systems, schools & other public bodies)
What are the effects of social policy?
Direct & indirect effects
What are direct effects of social policy?
Policies that are aimed directly at families e.g. laws on marriage,divorce, child protection, contraception or abortion
What are indirect effects of social policy?
Policies on other social/economic issues that also affect the family e.g. compulsory schooling = childcare however children are financially dependent
What are some examples of direct social policy for families?
Child support & child benefit
Child protection act 1989
Divorce reform act 1969
Legalisation of same-sex marriage 2014
Maternity & paternity leave
Abortion laws
Contraception
Pension
What is an example of indirect social policy on families?
The sex discrimination act -> women aren’t financially dependent on men anymore
What do functionalists say about social policy?
Social policies are the good for all & the sees the state as acting in society’s interests
Policies help families perform their functions more effectively & make life better for its members e.g. Fletcher -> the introduction of health, education & housing policies since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the welfare state that supports the family in performing it’s functions
- NHS -> helps the family take better care of it’s sick members
What are some criticisms of the functionalist view on social policy?
Assumes all members benefit equally -> feminists argue policies often benefit men at women’s expense
Assumes a ‘march of progress’ -> Marxists argue policies can reverse change previously made e.g. cutting welfare benefits to poor families
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Donzelot say about policing the family?
Has a conflict view & sees policies as a form of state power & control over families
Uses Foucalt’s concept of surveillance -> sees power as held by the government diffused through society & found within all relationships
Sees professionals (e.g. doctors) as exercising power over clients using their expert knowledge -> they’re turned into ‘cases’ to be dealt with -> applies it to families -> argues social workers, doctors etc. use their knowledge to control/change families
Surveillance isnt equally targeted among social classes as poorer families are more likely to be seen as a problem (cause of crime & antisocial behaviour) & a target for improvement
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Rachel Condry say about policing the family?
The state may seek control & regulate families by imposing compulsory parenting orders through the courts e.g. parents of young offenders are forced to go to parenting classes to learn the ‘correct’ way to parent
She focuses on a micro level -> Donzelot shows the importance of professional knowledge as a form of power & control
What are some criticisms from Marxists & feminists on policing the family?
Donzelot doesnt mention who benefits
Marxists -> argue social policies generally operate in capitalist interests
Feminists -> argue social policies generally benefit men
What is the comparative view on family policy?
Cross cultural examples & historical periods show extreme ways state policy effects family life -> helps to see the relationship between social policy & families in a new light
What was China’s one child policy & how was it enforced?
A government population control policy aimed to discourage couples from having more than one child
It was supervised by the workplace & family planning committees -> women had to seek permission to get pregnant of which there was a waiting list & a quota
Couples who complied got extra benefits -> only one child got priority in education & housing in later life, couples who didn’t had to repay allowance & pay a fine -> women faced pressure of sterilisation after one child
What social policies did communist Romania introduce that affected the family?
Policies were introduced to increase the birth rate that was falling as living standards declined
They restricted access to contraceptives & abortion, they setup infertility clinics, divorce was made more difficult, legal age of marriage lowered to 15, unmarried adults & childless couples had to pay extra 5% income tax
What was the Nazi family policy and how did it affect families?
A state pursued twofold policy in the 1930s
The nazis encouraged a ‘racially pure’ people to breed a ‘master race’ so access to contraception & abortion was restricted
Official policy sought women confined to their biological role (women look after house, kitchen, church etc.)
State policy sought 375000 disabled people sterilised on the grounds of ‘physical malformation, mental retardation, epilepsy, imbecility, deaf/blindness -> many killed in concentration camps
What do democratic societies say about family policy?
Some argue family is a private sphere of life which the government shouldn’t intervene (except for when things go wrong e.g. child abuse)
Sociologists argue state’s social policy plays an important role in shaping family life even in democratic societies
What do the New Right say about social policy & the family?
They are strongly in favour of the ‘conventional’, traditional nuclear family based on a married heterosexual couple with a division of labour between a man & woman
They see the nuclear family as self-reliant & capable of providing & caring for it’s members & the successful socialisation of children
They believe changes leading to an increase in family diversity are threatening the conventional family & are providing social problems e.g. crime
THE NEW RIGHT (SOCIOLOGIST): What does Brenda Almond argue about social policy & the family?
Laws making divorce easier undermine the idea of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man & woman and
The introduction of civil-partnerships & marriage (since 2014) for same sex couples sends message that the state no longer sees hetero marriages as superior to other domestic set-ups
Tax law discriminates against conventional families with a sole breadwinner as a non-working partner cannot transfer tax allowance to the other so they pay more
Points out that increased rights for unmarried cohabitants e.g. adoption rights makes cohabitation more similar to marriage -> sends the message marriage isn’t superior
What does the New Right say about lone parents, welfare policy & dependency culture?
Commentators (e.g. Charles Murray) are particularly critical of welfare policy as it provides ‘generous’ welfare benefits (e.g. council housing for teen mums) which undermines the conventional family & encourages deviant & dysfunctional family types which harm society
Murray -> argues welfare benefits offer ‘perverse incentives’ and rewards irresponsible/antisocial behaviour e.g. some fathers may abandon their responsibilities to their kids as a state will maintain them, current policies encourages dependency culture which threatens successful socialisation of the young, maintenance of work ethic amongst men
What is the New Right’s solution to social policy & the family?
They argue policy must be changed to cut welfare spending & tighter restrictions on who’s eligible for them
Have benefits such as reduction in tax so fathers have increased incentive to provide for their family & denying council housing for unmarried teen mums to provide less incentive to get pregnant young
Advocate policies to support traditional nuclear family e.g. making absent fathers financially responsible for their kids
They disagree with the functionalist view
They believe less state ‘interferes’ with family life the better it will be with greater self reliance to enable the family to meet its member’s needs more effectively
What is the New Right’s influence on policies?
Conservative policies since 1970 show a mixed picture with similarities between New Right & New Labour policies
What is some evaluation on the New Right perspective on social policy & the family?
Feminist -> argue it’s an attempt to justify a return to traditional patriarchal nuclear family that confined men & women to classic roles
Wrongly assumes the patriarchal nuclear family is ‘natural’ rather than socially constructed
Abbott & Wallace argue cutting benefits simply drive many poor families into greater poverty & they’re self-reliant
Ignore many policies that support & maintain the conventional nuclear family
What is the conservative governments (1979-97) perspective on social policy & the family?
The new right view -> they banned promotion of homosexuality by local authorities (including ban of teaching that homosexuality was an acceptable family relationships)
The new right view -> divorce was defined as a social problem & emphasised the continued responsibility of parents for their kids after divorce -> set up child support agencies to enforce maintenance payments by absent parents
Opposed new right view -> divorce made easier & gave ‘illegitimate children’ same rights as those born to married parents
What is the New Labour government perspective on social policy & the family?
Has a similar view to the New Right
Emphasised the need for parents to take responsibility for their kids e.g. introducing parenting orders for parents of truants & young offenders
Policies favour dual-earner, neo-conventional family e.g. longer maternity leave, 3 months unpaid for both parents & the right to seek time off work for family reasons which made working for both easier/working families tax credit which enabled parents to claim some tax relief on childcare costs/the new deal which helped lone parents return back to work
Argue certain types of state intervention can improve family life e.g. welfare, taxation & minimum wage policies partly aimed at lifting children out of poverty by redistributing income to the poor through higher benefits (the new right disapprove)
They support alternatives to the conventional hetero nuclear family with policies e.g. civil partnerships for same sex couples, giving unmarried couples same right to adopt as married couples & outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexuality
